Dionne WordPress Banner

The Second Disc

Expanded and Remastered Music News

  • Home
  • News
    • Classic Rock
    • Rock
    • Pop
    • Jazz
    • Popular Standards/Vocal
    • R&B/Soul
    • Country
    • Folk
    • Cast Recordings
    • Soundtracks
    • Everything Else
      • Classical/Opera
      • Disco/Dance
      • Funk
      • Gospel
      • Rap/Hip-Hop
  • Features
    • Release Round-Up
    • The Weekend Stream
    • Giveaways!
    • Interviews
  • Reviews
    • Classic Rock
    • Rock
    • Pop
    • Jazz
    • Popular Standards/Vocal
    • R&B/Soul
    • Country
    • Folk
    • Cast Recordings
    • Soundtracks
    • Everything Else
      • Classical/Opera
      • Disco/Dance
      • Funk
      • Gospel
      • Rap/Hip-Hop
  • Release Calendar
    • Coming Soon
    • Now Available
  • About
  • Second Disc Records
    • Full Catalog
  • Contact

/ News

Almost Like A Song: Morello Collects Four Ronnie Milsap Albums on 2-CD Set

March 14, 2018 By Randy Fairman 3 Comments

As one of the biggest country music stars of the 1970s and 1980s, Ronnie Milsap has had many compilations devoted to his career.  Recently, Cherry Red imprint Morello records released a 2-CD set featuring four of Milsap's albums from 1977 to 1980: It Was Almost Like A Song, Only One Love In My Life, Images and Milsap Magic.  It was during this period when Milsap began to experience his greatest successes as a crossover artist.

By the time of 1977's It Was Almost Like A Song, Ronnie Milsap had already garnered 7 Billboard Country No. 1s.  The singer and pianist, almost completely blind from birth, had signed with RCA in 1973 and gotten his first number with "Pure Love" in 1974 off of the album of the same name.  Despite all of his country chart success, Milsap had only been able to reach the lower portions of the portions of the pop charts.  That all changed with his sixth RCA studio album and "It Was Almost Like A Song."  The piano ballad, written by Archie Jordan and Hal David, would hit No. 1 on the Country chart, but also make it to No. 16 on the Pop chart and No. 7 on the AC chart, Milsap's first placement on there.  The other hit from the album was also written by Archie Jordan (solo this time).  "What A Difference You've Made In My Life" would place at the top of the Country charts and go to No. 19 on the AC survey.  Amy Grant also had a hit with the song that same year on the Christian charts.  The gold-certified It Was Almost Like A Song would peak at No. 3 on the Country albums chart.  Milsap was also named "Male Vocalist of the Year" and "Entertainer of the Year" by the Country Music Association in 1977.

The success continued for 1978's Only One Love In My Life which repeated the previous album's placement at No. 3 on the Country Albums chart.  Three singles would be released from the LP.  Charles Quillen and Conrad Pierce's "Back on My Mind Again" would go to No. 2 on the Country charts while its B-side "Santa Barbara (once again by Archie Jordan and Hal David) would also chart at No. 2.  The first song released as a single was the title track, written by R.C. Bannon and John Bettis.  It would top the Country charts, as would the next single, "Let's Take the Long Way Around the World" (by Archie Jordan and Naomi Martin).  Both cuts also hit the AC charts.

1979's Images was Milsap's last album of the decade.  The first single, Bob McDill and Wayne Holyfield's "Nobody Likes Sad Songs," would give the singer his twelfth Country chart-topper.  Richard Leigh was joined by the perennial Archie Jordan for the second single of the album, "In No Time At All."  It did not fare quite as well, only peaking at #6 on the Country survey.  The single's flipside showed Milsap's musical diversity.  Tom Brasfield's "Get It Up" found the artist dipping his toes into the disco arena.  He was rewarded when the song hit the pop and dance charts.

The dawning of the 1980s brought a little bit of change for Ronnie Milsap.  He had co-produced the previous three albums with Tom Collins.  For 1980's Milsap Magic, he teamed with Rob Galbraith instead.  While many of the songwriters were the same, Milsap also branched out by covering Barry Manilow's "I Let Myself Believe."  (Milsap and Manilow would later duet on "Put a Quarter in the Jukebox.")  But these changes did not stop the hits as the album produced another pair of country chart-toppers.  Bob McDill's "Why Don't You Spend the Night" and "My Heart" by Don Pfrimmer and Charles Quillen would both hit that peak.  Both B-sides, "Silent Night (After the Fight)" by John Schweers and Jerry Reed's "Misery Loves Company" also charted.

Milsap would have his first No. 1 AC hit (and another Country No. 1) with "Smoky Mountain Rain" off of his Greatest Hits album later that year.  He would stay on RCA through 1991's Back To the Grindstone, notching another 20 Country No. 1 hits over that span (and another AC No. 1 with his 1982 cover of Burt Bacharach's "Any Day Now").  Milsap first moved to Liberty and then Capitol before going to a variety of labels.  He even returned to RCA for 2006's My Life.  His last album was 2016's Gospel Greats on Black River Entertainment.  He received the Academy of Country Music's Pioneer award in 2002 and was inducted into the County Music Hall of Fame in 2014.

Morello's new 2-CD set is mastered by Alan Wilson at Western Star Studios.  Produced by Lee Simmonds, the compilation includes an 8-page full-color booklet featuring a 2-page essay by country music historian Tony Byworth.  This release marks the only appearance of Only One Love In My Life, Images and Milsap Magic on CD outside of Sony Legacy's 2014 boxset The RCA Albums Collection.

If you would like to give this title a try, we've got the full tracklisting and ordering links below!

Ronnie Milsap, It Was Almost Like A Song/Only One Love In My Life/Images/Milsap Magic (Morello/Cherry Red, 2018) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

CD 1

  1. What A Difference You've Made In My Life
  2. No One Will Ever Know
  3. It Was Almost Like A Song
  4. Selfish
  5. Long Distance Memory
  6. Here In Love
  7. The Future's Not What It Used To Be
  8. It Don't Hurt To Dream
  9. Crystal Fallin' Rain
  10. The Lovin' Kind
  11. Let's Take the Long Way Around The World
  12. Back On My Mind Again
  13. Only One Love In My Life
  14. I'm Not Trying To Forget
  15. No Relief in Sight
  16. Once I Get Over You
  17. Santa Barbara
  18. Too Soon To Know
  19. Yesterday's Lovers Never Make Good Friends
  20. I've Got the Music In Me

CD 2

  1. Nobody Likes Sad Songs
  2. Keep the Night Away
  3. I Really Don't Want To Know
  4. Just Because It Feels Good
  5. You Don't Look For Love
  6. Hi-Heel Sneakers
  7. In No Time At All
  8. Delta Queen
  9. All Good Things Don't Have To End
  10. Get It Up
  11. Why Don't You Spend The Night
  12. She Thinks I Still Care
  13. My Heart
  14. Silent Night (After the Fight)
  15. It's A Beautiful Thing
  16. Misery Loves Company
  17. I Let Myself Believe
  18. If You Don't Want Me To
  19. What's One More Time
  20. Still In Love With You

CD 1, Tracks 1-10 from It Was Almost Like A Song, RCA Victor LP AHL1-2439, 1977
CD 1, Tracks 11-20 from Only One Love In My Life, RCA Victor LP AFL1-2780, 1978
CD 2, Tracks 1-10 from Images, RCA Victor LP AHL1-3346, 1979
CD 2, Tracks 11-20 from Milsap Magic, RCA Victor LP AHL1-3563, 1980

Categories: News Formats: CD Genre: Country, Pop Tags: Ronnie Milsap

Avatar photo

Randy Fairman

Entertainment historian and writer Randy Fairman is a graduate of Northwestern University. Randy has written for publications including University Reporter Chicago and co-authored the graphic novel Love Bytes. A native of Indiana, he currently resides in New Jersey.

Connect With Randy:

You Might Also Like

  • King of America and Other RealmsRelease Round-Up: Week of November 1
  • RonnieMilsap BestOf LPVinyl BlackWhat a Difference You've Made: Ronnie Milsap's Greatest Hits Come Back to Vinyl
  • KISS Off the Soundboard Virginia BeachRelease Round-Up: Week of March 11
  • Nesmith PackshotRelease Round-Up: Week of April 30

Comments

  1. Zubb says

    March 14, 2018 at 8:12 pm

    It's worth buying this set if only to get Ronnie's great and under appreciated funk recording "Get It Up" on CD.

    Reply
    • Dana says

      March 18, 2018 at 9:48 am

      Indeed, however it would have been even more worth it had Morello included the 12" versions of "Get It Up" & "Hi-Heel Sneakers".

      Reply
      • Zubb says

        March 18, 2018 at 7:57 pm

        agreed.

        Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Upcoming Releases

  • Sheena Easton Modern Girl
    Modern Girl: The Complete EMI Recordings, Vol. 1
    Sheena Easton
    May 23, 2025
    US UK
  • Version 1.0.0
    Natural Gas: Original Master Edition
    Natural Gas
    May 30, 2025
    US UK
  • Grateful Dead The Music Never Stopped
    The Music Never Stopped
    Grateful Dead
    May 30, 2025
    US UK
See Full Calendar

Connect

  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 4,676 other subscribers

Popular Posts

  • Most Commented
  • Most Viewed
  • Dionne Warwick Make It Easy on Yourself(Don't) Walk On By: Dionne Warwick's "Make It Easy on Yourself: The Scepter Recordings 1962-1971" Due in June on 12...
  • Tracks II CD packshot no disc artShut Out the Light: Bruce Springsteen Offers Seven Unheard Albums on 'Tracks II'
  • Rod Stewart Ultimate Hits Amazon exclusiveHe Wears It Well: Rod Stewart's 'Ultimate Hits' Due in June
  • RSD 2025 best of restRecord Store Day 2025: The Best of the Rest
  • record store day logoThe Second Disc's Guide to Record Store Day 2025: Our Favorite Picks
  • John Williams Anthology 1Mondo Maestro: New John Williams Box Set Series Announced, Plus 'Star Wars' Re-Recordings on Vinyl

Music Resources

  • Addicted to Vinyl
  • Crap from the Past
  • Discogs
  • Film Score Monthly
  • IMWAN Forum – From the Vaults
  • MusicTAP
  • Musoscribe
  • Pause & Play
  • Popdose
  • Slicing Up Eyeballs
  • Steve Hoffman Music Forums
  • Ultimate Classic Rock
  • Vintage Vinyl News
  • Wolfgang's Vault

Labels of Note

  • Ace Records
  • Analog Spark
  • Bear Family
  • BGO Records
  • Big Break Records
  • Blixa Sounds
  • Cherry Red Label Group
  • Craft Recordings
  • Demon Music Group
  • Friday Music
  • Funky Town Grooves
  • Iconoclassic Records
  • Intervention Records
  • Intrada
  • Kritzerland
  • La La Land Records
  • Legacy Recordings
  • Light in the Attic
  • Masterworks Broadway
  • Now Sounds
  • Omnivore Recordings
  • Real Gone Music
  • Rhino Entertainment
  • Rock Candy Records
  • SoulMusic Records
  • Sunset Blvd. Records
  • Supermegabot
  • Varese Sarabande
  • Vinyl Me, Please
  • Wounded Bird
Copyright © 2025 The Second Disc. All rights reserved. · Site by Metaglyphics

The Second Disc is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com, amazon.ca and amazon.co.uk.

Terms and Conditions - Privacy Policy